Category Archives: Consider

Consider, Media, Provincial

Ironic Economic Reality

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On Mondays Global news cast was a story about the rebirth of Mackenzie, a forestry mill town in northern BC. It is a story that contained a number of ironic twists.

There is a certain irony in the part that demand from China is playing in the rebirth of forestry, in the economic benefit as lowest cost provider to China that is a result of BC’s location and in the fact that the Liberals will undoubtedly claim credit for what is, at it’s core, blind luck.

There is a higher level of irony involved in the fact the hated HST, which the people of the Prince George – Mackenzie riding (and people throughout BC who will benefit from the returning health of the forestry sector) signed a petition to repeal, contributed to the rebirth of the forestry sector.

But the largest and most darkly humorous irony in the report is the reality of life reflected in a seemingly small but very significant change between the 6 PM and the 11 PM Global newscasts.

On the 6 PM newscast the products of the forestry industry were referred to as BC’s most valuable export.

On the 11 PM newscast the products of the forestry industry were referred to as BC’s second most valuable export.

This change is reflective of the reality that BC Bud (marijuana) is, by a substantial margin, BC’s most valuable export. A further irony is that it was the substantial size of the marijuana business and the recession proof nature of the export market for BC marijuana that protected BC’s economy from the hard, deep economic downturn that would have hit had BC been forced to rely on its traditional (and legal) economy and exports.

Reality does not care what we want to be nor is it changed or affected by denial; Reality simply is. A very ironic truth for politics, politicians and many others in BC – and Canada.

Consider, Municipal, Snafu

Spare Clearbrook Library!

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That was what flashed into my mind as I read city manager Frank Pizzuto.’s statement “There are plans for that space [Clearbrook Library basement], great plans”.

Mr. Pizzuto’s statement was contained in an article on the cost incurred by the MSA Museum Society to store its collection of approximately 17,000 items after it moved out of the Clearbrook Library basement for a planned expansion of the library intro the basement.

Mr. Pizzuto’s statement was made in response to the fact that the new library scheduled to be built in Abbotsford means an expansion into the basement of Clearbrook Library is no longer necessary.

What is so disturbing about the city having “great plans” for the Clearbrook Library’s basement? The city’s track record with council “great plans”.

The same story included reference to half of the MSA Museum Society’s collection being at the Reach Gallery MUSEUM; a facility that was part of Abbotsford City Council’s great plans Plan A. Even though the size and contents of the MSA Museum Society’s collection was know at the time of Plan A the Society has to pay for storage because the Reach Gallery MUSEUM didn’t include storage space for the collection to relocate into from the Library basement.

Great Planning!

Then there was the recent front page story in The Province on the high cost to taxpayers of operating the Abbotsford Entertainment and Sports Complex. A Complex that was promised, as part of city council’s “great plans” to put $ million(s) into taxpayer’s pockets, not take it out of taxpayers pockets.

Council called those who asked to see the numbers the promised profits were based on ‘naysayers’; called they uniformed naysayers when they suggested council wait until the construction market cooled off to build the arena to avoid having something like the nearly 100% cost overrun happen; called them ‘naysayers’ again when they pointed out that it would be better for the taxpayer’s pocketbooks to not open the AESC until conditions were favourable. Council ploughed ahead leaving taxpayers covering the multimillion dollar yearly operating loses.

More Great Planning!

Of course the focus of the Province’s front page article was City Council having the taxpayers of Abbotsford subsidize the purchase of a professional hockey team for wealthy local businessmen; the fact that that council has failed to disclose to disclose the subsidy taxpayers paid in year one of the ten year agreement (a $ million, $2 million, $3 million?) for the purchase of the team – a subsidy for which taxpayers receive no ownership interest in the team; and that with the poor attendance numbers the subsidy is threatening to be higher in year 2.

More Great Planning!

The original plans for the Clearbrook Library basement by the library staff was as the Children’s Library. Of course that was before council had another of their “great plans” and cut down the shade trees, tore up the grassy slopes and put a pond right outside the basement entrance in building their seldom used $ million+ taxpayer unfriendly garden.

More Great Planning!

Council’s track record is why Frank Pizzuto referring to council having “great plans” for the Clearbrook Library basement is enough to strike terror in anyone who is a supporter, friend or user of Clearbrook Library.

Terror that has one wanting to scream “hands of that library you varmints” and preparing for a campaign to Spare Clearbrook Library any city council great plans.

Consider, Municipal

City Council Priorities

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Surely G.H. Chandler is not suggesting that water, roads, sewage, facility fees that are affordable for families and the average citizen are more important than Abbotsford city council’s ego projects?

How could G.H. Chandler possibly expect council to put the needs of Abbotsford’s taxpayers, the need for significant investments in water delivery and other infrastructure for the City of Abbotsford, ahead of the need of council to assuage their ego’s?

With Chilliwack having the Prospera Centre and the WHA Bruins hockey team; with Langley building their Event Centre for the BCHL Langley Chiefs (after Abbotsford Council sent the Chiefs on down the road) – how could Abbotsford city councillors be expected to hold their heads up proudly unless they built the AESC and acquired a hockey team, whatever the cost to taxpayers?

Undoubtedly G.H. Chandler (or other voters) will be pleased to know that their hard earned tax dollars are not going to support the Calgary Flames since Calgary does not own the Heat.

No the millions of dollars of taxpayer funded subsidies go into the pockets of those favoured local citizens who make up the ownership group of the Abbotsford Heat. And why should the ownership group of the Heat be expected to assume any of the risk of owning an AHL team when Abbotsford’s city council is willing to make the taxpayers of Abbotsford liable for all the risk?

Think how embarrassing it would have been for city council if they hadn’t put the taxpayers of Abbotsford on the hook for $57 million and therefore had no hockey team, leaving city council with an embarrassingly empty arena. Is G.H. Chandler daring to suggesting that saving the taxpayers $million$ of dollars in yearly operating costs and subsidies to the Heat ownership should have been a higher priority for city council than saving face?

Is it reasonable to expect council to feel that solid management, prudent planning and financially sound behaviour are higher priorities than ego projects?

Pshaw. If council made a priority of solid management, prudent planning and financially sound behaviour the city would not be at its current risk of insolvency or running out of water and there would be no need for city council and staff to be offering bribes in a desperate bid to get developers to build in Abbotsford.